Fola's wonder strike seals St Loman's victory

St Loman's Mullingar 1-11, Coralstown/Kinnegad 0-11

A spectacular 40th-minute goal from St Loman’s, Mullingar forward Fola Ayorinde lit up an otherwise dour Division 1 football league final in TEG Cusack Park last Sunday evening, and proved crucial in prising the trophy from Coralstown/Kinnegad’s grasp.

Moments after St Loman’s drew level for the first time since the third minute, Ayorinde picked up the ball in the half-forward line and ran straight into a packed Kinnegad defence. Powering past several red shirts, he rifled an unstoppable shot to the top corner of Sean Martin’s net with the Kinnegad full back line hot still on his heels. The 'steps' rule was fully tested in a great run but it was a terrific strike by the St Loman's star.

It was the outstanding occurrence in a game otherwise short on memorable moments, and it lifted a lacklustre St Loman’s side, which had struggled to break down a disciplined, defence-focused Coralstown/Kinnegad setup.

Kinnegad led 0-6 to 0-3 at half time, with Darren Giles impressing up front for last year’s defeated SFC finalists, while at the other end, their defensive unit restricted St Loman’s to just two points from play in the opening moiety.

However, the reigning Division 1 champions began to creak in the second half, and Ayorinde’s goal put the Saints in front for the first time, a lead they never relinquished. In truth, Kinnegad never looked likely to turn the tables in the final quarter.

The Reds had the best of the opening exchanges and got their reward after three minutes, when Josh Gahan struck the ball with the outside of his boot to curl a superb opener. A minute later, Darren Giles kicked off his left to double the advantage.

At the other end, St Loman’s opened their account when Westmeath star Ronan O’Toole powered his way past Jason Macken before dividing the posts. Peter Foy had a chance to equalise moments later but missed the target.

From there, the Blues found it difficult to penetrated a stubborn Kinnegad defensive wall and were forced to shoot from distance, while the Reds slowly chipped away at the scoreboard. By the 20th minute they led 0-5 to 0-1, with Giles (0-2, one from play) and Brían Cooney (a free) the scorers.

St Loman’s started to settle into the game at this point but there were missed chances for Ayorinde and Danny McCartan, before the latter kicked a fine score from the right wing. Frustratingly for the Blues, Kinnegad countered and Wayne Fox fired their sixth score from about 40 metres out.

John Heslin, operating in midfield for St Loman’s, had to wait until the 29th minute for his first score (from a free) before he missed a second free in stoppage time, as the Mullingar men finished a poor half with eight wides.

Paddy Dowdall’s charges outfit emerged in more determined fashion after the restart, and after a swift move, Sam McCartan burst through the theretofore impenetrable Kinnegad defence, only to be halted by the ref for overcarrying. In any event, his low shot went wide of the goal.

By the 37th minute however, the Blues came within a point of parity after scores from Ronan O’Toole (0-2, one from play) and Peter Foy cancelled out a score from Kinnegad’s Brían Cooney.

Moments later, Sam McCartan’s increasing influence over proceedings saw him pick out Kelvin Reilly with an inch-perfect pass. Clear of the Coralstown/Kinnegad defence, Reilly pulled the trigger tamely and his shot was saved by Seán Martin.

However, in the next minute St Loman’s finally levelled matters when a long ball from McCartan found Ronan O’Toole, and after turning his marker, he found the target of his reliable left boot to make it 0-7 apiece.

Then came the game’s key moment. A long clearance found its way to Fola Ayorinde just between midfield and the half-forward line. After a sublime pick-up, he kept going despite the efforts of Jason Macken and James Maxwell to close him down, and after sidestepping a tackle from Daniel Woods, headed for goal. With the Kinnegad full-back line breathing down his neck, he pulled the trigger with his right foot just before losing his footing, finding the top corner of the net with a powerful drive.

One of the best Cusack Park goals in recent memory briefly roused the crowd before the tit-for-tat pattern of scoring resumed. John Heslin (St Loman’s) and Brían Cooney (Coralstown/Kinnegad) exchanged frees, but that the Blues had the edge at this stage was underlined by the arrival of sub TJ Cox.

Cox was barely off the bench when he was teed up by Peter Foy before shifting to his left foot and scoring an exquisite point, and the Saints led 1-9 to 0-8.

Brían Cooney responded with a free for Kinnegad, but within a minute, Foy and Cox combined again, the former racing in from the left wing and picking out Cox with a pass across the face of goal. Cox again shifted onto his left side and drove the ball at goal, only to have his point-blank shot blocked on the line.

Buoyed by this stay of execution, Kinnegad poured forward in search of scores, and with two minutes to go were only two points adrift, with Dan Leech pointing from play before Sam McCartan and Callum Cruise exchanged ‘45s’.

Though there was only a kick of the ball between the sides, Kinnegad never looked like they had enough in their offensive locker to get this one over the line. On the stroke of 60 minutes, John Heslin extended the cushion to three points with a free for St Loman’s, and the Blues went on the hunt for an insurance score.

Deep into stoppage time, Kinnegad had one last chance to nab a late equalising goal on the break after a St Loman’s attack broke down, but the Blues’ full-back line intervened to clear a hopeful but no less dangerous ball heading for Wayne Fox, Kinnegad’s furthest man forward.

Seconds later, the full-time whistle sounded, and St Loman’s, Mullingar captain David Whelan was presented with the Division 1 cup by Frank Mescall, chairman of Westmeath GAA.

Scorers - St Loman's: R O’Toole 0-4 (1f), J Heslin 0-3f, F Ayorinde 1-0, D McCartan, P Foy, S McCartan (‘45’) and TJ Cox 0-1 each. Coralstown/Kinnegad: B Cooney 0-4 (3f), D Giles 0-3 (1f), J Gahan, W Fox, C Cruise (‘45’) and D Leech 0-1 each.

St Loman’s, Mullingar: Rory Matthews; Seán Kelly, Nathan Lally, Oisín Hogan; Enda Gaffney, David Whelan, Rory Sheahan; Seán Flanagan, John Heslin; Sam McCartan, Ronan O’Toole, Peter Foy; Kelvin Reilly, Fola Ayorinde, Danny McCartan. Subs used: TJ Cox for Reilly (47), Tristan Graham for Flanagan (58).

Coralstown/Kinnegad: Seán Martin; Jason Lynch, Ciaran Daly Snr, Josh Gahan; Jason Macken, Daniel Woods, Eoin O’Brien; James Maxwell, Liam Daly; Jack Torpey, Darren Giles, Brían Cooney; Dan Leech, Wayne Fox, Callum Cruise. Sub used: Eoghan Bracken for Lynch (43).

Ref: Enda Kelly (Castledaly).

Examiner's Eye on the game

Man of the match

Sam McCartan (St Loman’s, Mullingar): Ronan O’Toole kicked some important scores for the winners but McCartan’s all-round play was pivotal, particularly in the second half.

The key moment

Spectacular goals are called “golazos” on the soccer pitches of Italy but in Mullingar they should be called “Fola-zos” after what happened on Sunday evening. Fola Ayorinde’s moment of individual brilliance was one of the best Cusack Park goals in a long time, and ultimately, the decisive score of this league final.